diff --git a/apps/flipcash/core/src/main/res/values/strings.xml b/apps/flipcash/core/src/main/res/values/strings.xml
index 223ee5c2e8..013f48346e 100644
--- a/apps/flipcash/core/src/main/res/values/strings.xml
+++ b/apps/flipcash/core/src/main/res/values/strings.xml
@@ -1005,9 +1005,9 @@
     <string name="label_of">of</string>
     <string name="action_swipeToTip">Swipe to Tip</string>
     <string name="content_description_customTipAmount">Enter a custom amount</string>
-    <string name="subtitle_tipHintMinimum">Minimum tip %1$s</string>
-    <string name="error_title_tipMinimum">%1$s Minimum</string>
-    <string name="error_description_tipMinimum">Increase the amount to send</string>
+    <string name="subtitle_tipHintMinimum">%1$s minimum</string>
+    <string name="error_title_tipMinimum">%1$s Minimum Tip</string>
+    <string name="error_description_tipMinimum">Please enter a higher amount</string>
     <string name="label_viaTipCard">via Tip Card</string>
 
     <!-- Minimum-tip entry (nodes 9541:10951, 9553:113170). Backed by the profile's
diff --git a/apps/flipcash/features/messenger/src/main/kotlin/com/flipcash/app/messenger/internal/ChatViewModel.kt b/apps/flipcash/features/messenger/src/main/kotlin/com/flipcash/app/messenger/internal/ChatViewModel.kt
index 1fc31becc5..cd2a95a7b4 100644
--- a/apps/flipcash/features/messenger/src/main/kotlin/com/flipcash/app/messenger/internal/ChatViewModel.kt
+++ b/apps/flipcash/features/messenger/src/main/kotlin/com/flipcash/app/messenger/internal/ChatViewModel.kt
@@ -66,6 +66,7 @@ import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.filter
 import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.filterIsInstance
 import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.filterNotNull
 import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.flatMapLatest
+import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.flowOf
 import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.launchIn
 import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.map
 import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.mapNotNull
@@ -257,8 +258,8 @@ internal class ChatViewModel @Inject constructor(
         }.stateIn(viewModelScope, SharingStarted.WhileSubscribed(5000), null)
     }
 
-    // The amount entry adapts to the chat type: a tip DM swipes to *tip* and enforces the minimum
-    // tip (from the tip payment delegate); a contact DM swipes to *send* with no minimum.
+    // Only the payment that opens a tip DM is a tip — it buys the conversation, and it is the one
+    // the recipient's fee applies to. Everything after it, and every contact DM, is a plain send.
     private fun amountStyle(isTip: Boolean) = AmountEntryStyle(
         actionLabel = AmountEntryLabel.Plain(
             resources.getString(
@@ -280,20 +281,61 @@ internal class ChatViewModel @Inject constructor(
         },
     )
 
-    private val isTipFlow = stateFlow
-        .map { it.participant is ChatParticipant.TipUser }
+    // The counterparty of a tip DM, whose server profile carries the fee they charge to open a DM.
+    // Null for a contact DM: it is addressed by phone number and there is no profile to read one off.
+    private val tipRecipientFlow = stateFlow
+        .map { it.participant as? ChatParticipant.TipUser }
         .distinctUntilChanged()
 
     private val amountStyleFlow by lazy {
-        isTipFlow
-            .map { amountStyle(isTip = it) }
+        openingTipRecipientFlow
+            .map { amountStyle(isTip = it != null) }
             .stateIn(viewModelScope, SharingStarted.WhileSubscribed(5000), amountStyle(isTip = false))
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Whether this conversation already exists. Members are the same signal
+     * [com.flipcash.shared.chat.DmChatResolver.getChatId] calls initialized: a chat the server has
+     * created has a member row, one derived from a user id alone does not.
+     */
+    @OptIn(ExperimentalCoroutinesApi::class)
+    private val isChatInitialized by lazy {
+        stateFlow.mapNotNull { it.chatId }
+            .distinctUntilChanged()
+            .flatMapLatest { chatCoordinator.observeMembers(it) }
+            .map { it.isNotEmpty() }
+            .distinctUntilChanged()
+            .stateIn(viewModelScope, SharingStarted.WhileSubscribed(5000), false)
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The user this payment would open a tip DM with — null once the conversation exists, and null
+     * for a contact DM. It decides both the floor and the word the entry uses: the fee, and calling
+     * the payment a tip, belong to the one that opens the chat.
+     */
+    private val openingTipRecipientFlow by lazy {
+        combine(tipRecipientFlow, isChatInitialized) { recipient, initialized ->
+            recipient?.takeUnless { initialized }
+        }
+            .distinctUntilChanged()
+            .stateIn(viewModelScope, SharingStarted.WhileSubscribed(5000), null)
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The floor the entry enforces, and only for the payment that opens a tip DM.
+     *
+     * What the recipient sets is the fee to *open* a DM with them, so it gates that first payment
+     * and nothing after it: once the conversation exists, sending cash in it has no minimum at all.
+     * A contact DM never has one.
+     */
+    @OptIn(ExperimentalCoroutinesApi::class)
     private val minAmountFlow by lazy {
-        combine(isTipFlow, tipPaymentDelegate.minTipAmount) { isTip, tipMin ->
-            if (isTip) tipMin else null
-        }.stateIn(viewModelScope, SharingStarted.WhileSubscribed(5000), null)
+        openingTipRecipientFlow
+            .flatMapLatest { recipient ->
+                if (recipient == null) flowOf(null)
+                else tipPaymentDelegate.minimumToOpenDmWith(recipient.profile)
+            }
+            .stateIn(viewModelScope, SharingStarted.WhileSubscribed(5000), null)
     }
 
     val amountDelegate by lazy {
diff --git a/apps/flipcash/features/tipping/src/main/kotlin/com/flipcash/app/tipping/internal/TipAmountEntryViewModel.kt b/apps/flipcash/features/tipping/src/main/kotlin/com/flipcash/app/tipping/internal/TipAmountEntryViewModel.kt
index 54a37d1969..5d34a1f611 100644
--- a/apps/flipcash/features/tipping/src/main/kotlin/com/flipcash/app/tipping/internal/TipAmountEntryViewModel.kt
+++ b/apps/flipcash/features/tipping/src/main/kotlin/com/flipcash/app/tipping/internal/TipAmountEntryViewModel.kt
@@ -89,10 +89,13 @@ internal class TipAmountEntryViewModel @Inject constructor(
                 val entered = amountDelegate.state.value.enteredAmount
                 if (entered <= 0.0) return@onEach
                 val amount = Fiat(entered, stateFlow.value.currency)
-                // Floor at the lowest preset — a custom amount can't undercut the presets.
+                // The floor the coordinator resolved for this card: the recipient's own minimum
+                // when this tip opens the DM, the system minimum once one exists.
                 val min = tippingCoordinator.minTipAmount.value
                 if (min != null && amount.valueLessThan(min)) {
-                    BottomBarManager.showAlert(
+                    // Info, not an alert: nothing failed, the amount is just under the floor —
+                    // matching the same prompt in the chat and tip-card paths.
+                    BottomBarManager.showInfo(
                         title = resources.getString(R.string.error_title_tipMinimum, min.formatted()),
                         message = resources.getString(R.string.error_description_tipMinimum),
                     )
diff --git a/apps/flipcash/shared/payments/src/main/kotlin/com/flipcash/shared/payments/TipPaymentDelegate.kt b/apps/flipcash/shared/payments/src/main/kotlin/com/flipcash/shared/payments/TipPaymentDelegate.kt
index d8102bc60d..be18c8fe3e 100644
--- a/apps/flipcash/shared/payments/src/main/kotlin/com/flipcash/shared/payments/TipPaymentDelegate.kt
+++ b/apps/flipcash/shared/payments/src/main/kotlin/com/flipcash/shared/payments/TipPaymentDelegate.kt
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import com.flipcash.app.tokens.TokenCoordinator
 import com.flipcash.app.userflags.UserFlagsCoordinator
 import com.flipcash.services.controllers.ResolverController
 import com.flipcash.services.models.TipOrigin
+import com.flipcash.services.models.UserProfile
 import com.flipcash.services.models.buildTipDmPaymentMetadata
 import com.flipcash.services.models.chat.ChatId
 import com.flipcash.shared.chat.ChatCoordinator
@@ -21,10 +22,13 @@ import kotlinx.coroutines.CoroutineScope
 import kotlinx.coroutines.Dispatchers
 import kotlinx.coroutines.ExperimentalCoroutinesApi
 import kotlinx.coroutines.SupervisorJob
+import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.Flow
 import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.SharingStarted
 import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.StateFlow
 import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.combine
+import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.emitAll
 import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.flatMapLatest
+import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.flow
 import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.map
 import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.stateIn
 import javax.inject.Inject
@@ -116,13 +120,39 @@ class TipPaymentDelegate @Inject constructor(
     /**
      * The smallest tippable amount — the presets' [com.flipcash.services.models.TipPresets.minimum]
      * in the user's preferred currency. This is the dedicated minimum, NOT the lowest tier (`low`),
-     * which typically sits above it. The amount entry surfaces it as a "minimum tip" hint and blocks
-     * custom amounts below it. Null until presets resolve.
+     * which typically sits above it. Null until presets resolve.
+     *
+     * The regional floor, which applies to a recipient who has set no minimum of their own — an
+     * amount entry asks [minimumTipFor] for the floor to enforce, not this.
      */
     val minTipAmount: StateFlow<Fiat?> =
         resolvedPresets.map { it?.minimum }
             .stateIn(scope, SharingStarted.WhileSubscribed(5_000), null)
 
+    /**
+     * The floor for the tip that *opens* a DM with [recipient]: the fee they charge to be written
+     * to, expressed in the sender's preferred currency, or the regional [minTipAmount] when they
+     * charge none — the server applies its own default in that case, and that preset is what it is.
+     *
+     * The fee is stored in whatever currency the recipient set it in, so it is converted through USD
+     * to the currency the sender is entering in. A missing rate for either side falls back to the
+     * preset rather than stating a floor in a currency the entry isn't using.
+     */
+    fun minimumToOpenDmWith(recipient: UserProfile?): Flow<Fiat?> =
+        combine(minTipAmount, exchange.observePreferredRate()) { preset, rate ->
+            recipient?.minDmChatInitFee?.inCurrency(rate.currency) ?: preset
+        }
+
+    /**
+     * The floor for a tip to [userId]. The fee buys the conversation, so only the tip that opens it
+     * pays [minimumToOpenDmWith]; once a DM with them exists, every tip after it sits on the system
+     * [minTipAmount] like any other.
+     */
+    fun minimumTipFor(userId: ID, recipient: UserProfile?): Flow<Fiat?> = flow {
+        val opensTheChat = chatCoordinator.getChatId(userId).isFailure
+        emitAll(if (opensTheChat) minimumToOpenDmWith(recipient) else minTipAmount)
+    }
+
     /**
      * Whether [amount] exceeds the per-transaction send limit for its currency — the amount entry
      * gates on this before committing. Balance is enforced separately at send time; false when no
@@ -171,6 +201,17 @@ class TipPaymentDelegate @Inject constructor(
             }
     }
 
+    /**
+     * This amount in [target], routed through USD — the only rate every currency has. Null when
+     * either leg has no rate, which is the caller's cue to fall back rather than mix currencies.
+     */
+    private fun Fiat.inCurrency(target: CurrencyCode): Fiat? {
+        if (currencyCode == target) return this
+        val usd = exchange.rateToUsd(currencyCode)?.let { convertingTo(it) } ?: return null
+        if (target == CurrencyCode.USD) return usd.rounded()
+        return exchange.rateFor(target)?.let { usd.convertingTo(it).rounded() }
+    }
+
     /**
      * The built-in fallback presets — the [DEFAULT_USD_MINIMUM] and [DEFAULT_USD_PRESETS] tiers (in
      * USD), localized to [preferred] via the current exchange rate when the user isn't on USD. Leaves
diff --git a/apps/flipcash/shared/payments/src/test/kotlin/com/flipcash/shared/payments/TipPaymentDelegateTest.kt b/apps/flipcash/shared/payments/src/test/kotlin/com/flipcash/shared/payments/TipPaymentDelegateTest.kt
index 6309224a96..4747b53ba4 100644
--- a/apps/flipcash/shared/payments/src/test/kotlin/com/flipcash/shared/payments/TipPaymentDelegateTest.kt
+++ b/apps/flipcash/shared/payments/src/test/kotlin/com/flipcash/shared/payments/TipPaymentDelegateTest.kt
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ import com.flipcash.app.userflags.ResolvedUserFlags
 import com.flipcash.app.userflags.UserFlagsCoordinator
 import com.flipcash.services.controllers.ResolverController
 import com.flipcash.services.models.TipPresets
+import com.flipcash.services.models.chat.ChatId
+import com.flipcash.services.models.UserProfile
 import com.flipcash.shared.chat.ChatCoordinator
 import com.getcode.opencode.controllers.TransactionController
 import com.getcode.opencode.exchange.Exchange
@@ -16,6 +18,7 @@ import com.getcode.opencode.model.financial.Limits
 import com.getcode.opencode.model.financial.Rate
 import com.getcode.opencode.model.financial.SendLimit
 import com.getcode.solana.keys.Mint
+import io.mockk.coEvery
 import io.mockk.every
 import io.mockk.mockk
 import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.MutableStateFlow
@@ -43,6 +46,21 @@ class TipPaymentDelegateTest {
             SendLimit(nextTransaction = 100.0, maxPerTransaction = 500.0, maxPerDay = 1000.0)
     }
 
+    private fun recipient(fee: Fiat?) = UserProfile(
+        displayName = "Alice",
+        socialAccounts = emptyList(),
+        phoneNumber = null,
+        email = null,
+        minDmChatInitFee = fee,
+    )
+
+    /** Presets whose USD region carries a $1 minimum — the floor when a recipient sets none. */
+    private fun usdPresets() = MutableStateFlow(
+        resolvedFlagsWith(
+            listOf(TipPresets(region = "usd", minimum = 1.0, low = 2.0, medium = 5.0, high = 10.0)),
+        ),
+    )
+
     private fun resolvedFlagsWith(presets: List<TipPresets>): ResolvedUserFlags =
         mockk {
             every { tipPresets } returns ResolvedFlag(presets, FieldOverride.None)
@@ -135,4 +153,87 @@ class TipPaymentDelegateTest {
         assertEquals(1.0, min!!.toDouble())
         assertEquals(listOf(5.0, 10.0, 20.0), presets.map { it.toDouble() })
     }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `minimumToOpenDmWith is the recipient's own fee, not the regional preset`() = runTest {
+        every { userFlags.resolvedFlags } returns usdPresets()
+        every { exchange.observePreferredRate() } returns flowOf(Rate(fx = 1.0, currency = CurrencyCode.USD))
+
+        val recipient = recipient(Fiat(5.0, CurrencyCode.USD))
+        val min = buildDelegate().minimumToOpenDmWith(recipient).first { it != null }
+
+        assertEquals(5.0, min!!.toDouble())
+        assertEquals(CurrencyCode.USD, min.currencyCode)
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `minimumToOpenDmWith converts the recipient's fee into the currency being entered`() = runTest {
+        every { userFlags.resolvedFlags } returns usdPresets()
+        every { exchange.observePreferredRate() } returns flowOf(Rate(fx = 2.0, currency = CurrencyCode.EUR))
+        // The fee was set in CAD at half a dollar to the dollar; the sender enters in EUR at two.
+        every { exchange.rateToUsd(CurrencyCode.CAD) } returns Rate(fx = 0.5, currency = CurrencyCode.USD)
+        every { exchange.rateFor(CurrencyCode.EUR) } returns Rate(fx = 2.0, currency = CurrencyCode.EUR)
+
+        val recipient = recipient(Fiat(10.0, CurrencyCode.CAD))
+        val min = buildDelegate().minimumToOpenDmWith(recipient).first { it != null }
+
+        // CAD 10 → USD 5 → EUR 10.
+        assertEquals(10.0, min!!.toDouble())
+        assertEquals(CurrencyCode.EUR, min.currencyCode)
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `minimumToOpenDmWith falls back to the preset when the recipient charges nothing`() = runTest {
+        every { userFlags.resolvedFlags } returns usdPresets()
+        every { exchange.observePreferredRate() } returns flowOf(Rate(fx = 1.0, currency = CurrencyCode.USD))
+
+        val delegate = buildDelegate()
+
+        assertEquals(1.0, delegate.minimumToOpenDmWith(recipient(fee = null)).first { it != null }!!.toDouble())
+        assertEquals(1.0, delegate.minimumToOpenDmWith(null).first { it != null }!!.toDouble())
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `minimumToOpenDmWith falls back to the preset rather than state a floor in another currency`() = runTest {
+        every { userFlags.resolvedFlags } returns usdPresets()
+        every { exchange.observePreferredRate() } returns flowOf(Rate(fx = 1.0, currency = CurrencyCode.USD))
+        // No rate for the currency the recipient set their fee in.
+        every { exchange.rateToUsd(CurrencyCode.CAD) } returns null
+
+        val recipient = recipient(Fiat(10.0, CurrencyCode.CAD))
+        val min = buildDelegate().minimumToOpenDmWith(recipient).first { it != null }
+
+        assertEquals(1.0, min!!.toDouble())
+        assertEquals(CurrencyCode.USD, min.currencyCode)
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `minimumTipFor charges the recipient's fee while no chat with them exists`() = runTest {
+        every { userFlags.resolvedFlags } returns usdPresets()
+        every { exchange.observePreferredRate() } returns flowOf(Rate(fx = 1.0, currency = CurrencyCode.USD))
+        val userId = listOf<Byte>(1, 2, 3)
+        coEvery { chatCoordinator.getChatId(userId) } returns
+            Result.failure(IllegalStateException("no DM yet"))
+
+        val min = buildDelegate()
+            .minimumTipFor(userId, recipient(Fiat(5.0, CurrencyCode.USD)))
+            .first { it != null }
+
+        assertEquals(5.0, min!!.toDouble())
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `minimumTipFor drops to the system minimum once a chat exists`() = runTest {
+        every { userFlags.resolvedFlags } returns usdPresets()
+        every { exchange.observePreferredRate() } returns flowOf(Rate(fx = 1.0, currency = CurrencyCode.USD))
+        val userId = listOf<Byte>(1, 2, 3)
+        coEvery { chatCoordinator.getChatId(userId) } returns Result.success(ChatId(byteArrayOf(9)))
+
+        // The fee opened that chat; it isn't charged again.
+        val min = buildDelegate()
+            .minimumTipFor(userId, recipient(Fiat(5.0, CurrencyCode.USD)))
+            .first { it != null }
+
+        assertEquals(1.0, min!!.toDouble())
+    }
 }
diff --git a/apps/flipcash/shared/tipping/src/main/kotlin/com/flipcash/shared/tipping/TippingCoordinator.kt b/apps/flipcash/shared/tipping/src/main/kotlin/com/flipcash/shared/tipping/TippingCoordinator.kt
index fafeb48a62..32f88be7ba 100644
--- a/apps/flipcash/shared/tipping/src/main/kotlin/com/flipcash/shared/tipping/TippingCoordinator.kt
+++ b/apps/flipcash/shared/tipping/src/main/kotlin/com/flipcash/shared/tipping/TippingCoordinator.kt
@@ -92,6 +92,10 @@ class TippingCoordinator @Inject constructor(
 
     private val _userId = MutableStateFlow<ID?>(null)
 
+    // The resolved card owner's profile, kept because it carries the fee they charge to open a DM
+    // with them — the floor a first tip has to clear. Set alongside _userId when a card resolves.
+    private val _recipient = MutableStateFlow<UserProfile?>(null)
+
     // Whether the viewer can afford at least the minimum tip, evaluated when a tip
     // card is resolved. Surfaced through [selection] so the scanner can hide the tip
     // modal and prompt to add money without re-checking balance itself.
@@ -113,8 +117,19 @@ class TippingCoordinator @Inject constructor(
     /** The largest tippable amount (send-limit ∧ balance), surfaced by the amount entry. */
     val maxTipAmount: StateFlow<Fiat?> get() = tipPaymentDelegate.maxTipAmount
 
-    /** The smallest tippable amount (lowest preset tier), surfaced by the amount entry. */
-    val minTipAmount: StateFlow<Fiat?> get() = tipPaymentDelegate.minTipAmount
+    /**
+     * The smallest tippable amount for the card on screen: the fee its owner charges to open a DM
+     * when this tip would open one, and the system minimum otherwise. Surfaced by the amount entry
+     * as a standing hint and enforced by [confirmTip].
+     */
+    @OptIn(ExperimentalCoroutinesApi::class)
+    val minTipAmount: StateFlow<Fiat?> =
+        combine(_userId, _recipient) { userId, recipient -> userId to recipient }
+            .flatMapLatest { (userId, recipient) ->
+                if (userId == null) tipPaymentDelegate.minTipAmount
+                else tipPaymentDelegate.minimumTipFor(userId, recipient)
+            }
+            .stateIn(scope, SharingStarted.WhileSubscribed(5_000), null)
 
     /** The combined tip selection (amount chosen in the modal + app-global token + send state). */
     override val selection: StateFlow<TipSelectionState> =
@@ -130,7 +145,15 @@ class TippingCoordinator @Inject constructor(
                 )
             },
             tipPaymentDelegate.tipPresets,
-        ) { state, presets -> state.copy(presets = presets) }
+            // A preset below the recipient's floor would be rejected on send, so it isn't offered.
+            // Presets normally all clear it; the floor only rises above them when the recipient has
+            // set a minimum of their own that high.
+        ) { state, presets ->
+            val floor = state.minimum
+            state.copy(
+                presets = presets.filter { floor == null || !it.valueLessThan(floor) },
+            )
+        }
             .stateIn(scope, SharingStarted.WhileSubscribed(5_000), TipSelectionState())
 
     init {
@@ -162,6 +185,18 @@ class TippingCoordinator @Inject constructor(
             setSendState(LoadingSuccessState(loading = true))
             val token = selectedToken.firstOrNull() ?: return@launch
 
+            // The floor, checked here as well as in the amount entry: a preset chip never passes
+            // through that entry.
+            val floor = minTipAmount.value
+            if (floor != null && amount.value.valueLessThan(floor)) {
+                setSendState(LoadingSuccessState())
+                BottomBarManager.showInfo(
+                    title = resources.getString(R.string.error_title_tipMinimum, floor.formatted()),
+                    message = resources.getString(R.string.error_description_tipMinimum),
+                )
+                return@launch
+            }
+
             // Fast-fail before the loading state if the tip exceeds the token balance:
             // prompt to add money (or enter a smaller amount) instead of attempting a send.
             val balanceInLocal = tokenCoordinator.balanceForToken(token).convertingTo(rate)
@@ -298,7 +333,7 @@ class TippingCoordinator @Inject constructor(
      */
     suspend fun resolveTipCard(userId: ID): Result<Scannable.TipCard> =
         resolveProfile(userId)
-            .onSuccess { onCardResolved(userId) }
+            .onSuccess { onCardResolved(userId, it) }
             .map { tipCard(userId, it) }
 
     /**
@@ -321,7 +356,7 @@ class TippingCoordinator @Inject constructor(
                 // link lands. The id off the wire has no such window.
                 // Mirrors iOS TipFlow.prepare's `guard userID != session.userID`.
                 if (userId == currentUserId) throw OwnTipCard(username)
-                onCardResolved(userId)
+                onCardResolved(userId, profile)
                 tipCard(userId, profile)
             }
 
@@ -331,9 +366,10 @@ class TippingCoordinator @Inject constructor(
      * minimum-tip and per-amount affordability are enforced downstream — the amount entry's
      * below-min / over-balance gates and confirmTip.
      */
-    private suspend fun onCardResolved(userId: ID) {
+    private suspend fun onCardResolved(userId: ID, profile: UserProfile) {
         _canTip.value = tokenCoordinator.hasGiveableBalance()
         _userId.value = userId
+        _recipient.value = profile
         vibrator.vibrate()
     }